What a difference a few days make. OpenAI is now in talks to raise about $6.5 billion at a valuation of around $150 billion, The Times reports. Those numbers vastly exceed what ChatGPT’s parent company had been seeking not too long ago. If the round comes together — talks remain fluid, and there’s no guarantee they will lead to a deal at those terms — it would underscore investors’ continued enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, even as questions about the future of the sector are piling up. Only last week, OpenAI was seeking about $1 billion at a $100 billion valuation. But belief that the company will continue to lead the A.I. race appears to be driving current and prospective investors — potential participants in the round include Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital, Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia — to open their wallets. (OpenAI is also in talks to secure a $5 billion revolving line of credit from banks, according to Bloomberg.) To put the fund-raising effort in context:
- At $150 billion, the company would also be nearly twice as valuable as Intel.
- At $6.5 billion, the deal size would be tied for the fifth biggest venture funding round since 2006, according to PitchBook.
- A $150 billion valuation would be a huge win for Thrive, which led OpenAI’s last major fund-raising round at an $80 billion valuation.
- At that size, questions will grow about the company plans to go public via an initial public offering and add to pressure for it to restructure itself into an entirely for-profit enterprise.
